Cloud 99
by Summer Wonderland
Summary: The GG's are MIA, and all their old rivals are free to wreak havoc once again. One girl, a constant victim of the torment, is driven to find them, and ends up in a weird trance of music, turf wars, and love... what a mess. Beat/OC, JSRF. Hiatus.
1. Makings of a 99'er

The alleyways were still dark, and no matter how many flashlights or cell-phone screens you took with you, there still wouldn't be enough light to see a mile ahead of you. It was dark enough in those alleys to carry secrets, set up shady dealings, and to stage surprise assaults...

A painful lesson I learned about 99th street just now. I just wanted to take a shortcut to get home from a long, boring day of classes, and ended up close-lined by a bunch of freaks in fishnet stockings.

Here I am- on my back in a puddle from yesterday's rain - gaping at the infamous Rapid 99 like an idiot. There _they _are, standing over me with an deviant glint of satisfaction in their eyes.

And suddenly, I found myself blurting out,"What the hell do you want from me?"

Which, of course, I got no response from.

Ever since classes started back after break, a group of girls who randomly started to 'tag along' on my trips back home. At first, I thought they were just some sort of harmless stalker-freaks, since they never came within ten feet of me, so I ignored them entirely. And then, after a few weeks, they started to pick at me in any way that seemed to satisfy their need to do evil; tripping me on the sidewalk and skating away, giving me a shove to 'accidentally' fall in the middle oncoming traffic, tossing random items in my bag in the CD store so the alarm would go off... You name it, they'd done it. Twice.

The girls slowly started to move closer, laughing amongst themselves.

"Hello? I _said_, what do you want from me?"

Laughter from the girl in the middle ceased; in fact, her entire expression dropped, and she was angry now.

"What do you think we want from you?"

I could feel my brow wrinkle on impulse. "Mind games? I'll pass. Just tell me what you want. You're the one bothering me, aren't you?"

"Smartass," The girl on the left said, crossing her arms.

"We wanna offer you something. This doesn't happen every day, just so you understand me clearly."

The leader offered me her hand, and strangely enough, I trusted her enough to take it.

There was silence among us four for a moment, and then she finally spoke.

"You've got the makings of a 99'er."

"Oh, no." I said immediately. "I don't do the whole... skating-street-gang thing... that's so popular these days," I said, quoting the term with my fingers.

"Come on. You haven't even considered it," the girl on the right said.

I shook my head, looking the girl on the right in the eye. "I don't need to. What could a life of graffiti and fancy skating do for me?"

"You mean, what could a life of power, beauty, and _endless excitement_ do for you," their leader quipped, grinning. "That kinda answers itself, doesn't it?"

The three of them started to giggle.

Even now that I was on neutral ground with the Rapid 99 right now, as opposed to our usual encounters, I still couldn't see any reason to even _think_ about being associated with them. They were... just plain weird. They had a bad rep for catfights, and after tormenting me for a couple of weeks, for whatever reason, they wanted me to be a part of their gang. I think I had every right to say no...

So I said it. "I'm not joining you guys. Sorry."

The girls' borws wrinkled, almost as if they were all in sync. "Yes you are."

Their leader looked at me as though I had just said something crazy. I repeated, "No, I'm-"

"_Yeah_, you _are_. If it helps you decide any faster, your place has already been trashed." The leader crossed her arms. "You've got no place to go back to, and if you join us, that problem will be gone as quick as it came."

"What... what do you mean, 'trashed'? By who," I asked.

The thought alone shook me up, but I knew better than to believe it, especially coming from a bunch of misfits. They'd probably tell any kind of lie...

"Love Shockers. Ever heard of those tramps?" The girl on the right asked.

Frowning, I shook my head slowly. The leader smirked.

"Another gang of hussies. As if we need any more," she joked, sticking her tongue out. The girls alongside her slapped her two quick high fives. "Apparently you were screwing around with one of their exes. They wanted some payback. You need to learn to keep your business on the D-L, eh?" she said, giggling with the other two girls.

"Exes? I haven't even..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I needed to be sure of that, myself.

I knew for a fact that at school, I was only involved with one boy, who'd never dated anyone else as far as I knew. And I didn't live around any boys my age, so it wouldn't have been anyone in my neighborhood...

Then I remembered. There was a streak of wild parties after the GG's took back the city from their rivals and the Rokkaku, and I went to the last two with my best friend. I never thought they'd be so much fun, until I was actually inside the garage, dancing with Gum, Rhyth, Jazz, and Boogie. The music was so loud and hypnotizing, that I didn't care who I was dancing with- girl, guy, robot - I was moving beside someone, and we were having a good time.

Even then, there was only one guy that turned my experience into something a little more 'intimate' than it did with any of the other guys, but I never got a name, and I couldn't remember his voice, so after a week of searching, I gave up on my tall, dark, and handsome stranger.

"Hey. Come back to reality, girl."

At the clap of her hands, my eyes darted back onto her face. "So you remember now, right? Don't tell me about it, then. We don't got time to reminiscence in every one of your drunken hookups. You need to be in 99'er uniform pronto. Can you even grind?"

I still wasn't completely snapped out of the memory. I needed to know more about what my life had apparently been turned into. Now, I was a ex-stealing, homeless, high school drop-

"Hey!" The leader snapped in front of me. "You really need to lay off whatever it is you're smoking... What's your name?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Me? Come up with one of those exotic street names? Doubt it." I lightly shrugged, shaking my head. "...what are you guys' names?"

"You don't deserve to know them yet. And you're not picking your official name, dork. We give you that. I meant the one you're leaving behind."

"Oh." I felt like such an idiot, but for some reason, it didn't make me feel bad. "It's Flow."

She smiled. "Hmph. Well, _Flow_, we've got work to do. Time for you to learn 99th street like the back of your hand."


	2. Rush, Rush, Rush

Tight.

That's one word I could use to describe the Rapid 99's choice of clothing, and another one if I had a say-so, would be just plain skimpy.

A black long-sleeve shirt - as clingy to my figure as a size too small could be – with bottoms that could barely count as panties, hot pink fishnets, and a collar with a broken chain.

I looked at myself in the mirror, unsure of whether to be disgusted or thrilled. In under an hour I had been turned into someone completely different. From the pink collar down to the neon green spankies, I felt like I was being completely reborn into the world as an extremely provocative, under-aged, trouble maker.

"Hot. If we weren't at war with almost every other gang, I'm pretty sure you'd be pulling rudies left and right."

The only 99'er's name that I knew so far, Dash, always made me feel welcomed. Not that the others didn't, she just went a little easier on me than they did. She was supposed to size me up tonight, to see what I could and couldn't do. Tagging sounded like fun, I just wasn't sure if I could do it.

"The only problem is, your hair is jet black." she said, crossing her arms, and studying my appearance.

"And too bad I'm not dying my hair," I added, with a smile.

"Well I think Str- I mean... I think _she_ has a solution to that."

Dash was always on the brink of slipping up. I never understood the big deal about knowing our leader's real name, anyway.

Well. So to speak.

Our leader came back into the room, holding a small black cloth and two bands. "Put this on. I wanna see how it looks," she said as she tossed me the cloth.

I held it up. It was a mask, and the edges were lined with pink metallic material. There was even a pink metallic print of a pair of lips on the front, and for some reason, I couldn't wait to try it on. I pulled it over my face and tied it, and Dash's grin grew wide.

"I fuckin' love it."

"Yeah, you'll fit right in. After your lesson, we're gonna go on a little adventure. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Wait, don't answer that. It _should_ sound like fun. You in?"

I was a little surprised at the offer. "What kind of fun?" I thought I was a little too new to be out on the scene at night, let alone hanging out with the big girls.

"You know the GG's?" she asked, a smirk sliding across her features.

"Heard of them. Aren't they a has-been?"

"Yeah," Dash answered. "But two of them showed up on the rooftops three nights ago, and they're just asking to get their asses handed to them."

I didn't quite follow, but I could see our leader was going to explain further.

"See, there was this Yoyo kid, the one who thinks he's bad-ass. And that other broad...I can't think of her name. But she was wearing all black." She looked to Dash, hoping she would know.

"I think her name was Boogie. I don't know for sure because her hair's black now," Dash said, shrugging.

"Well I don't know who she was, but I know that little green-haired bastard anywhere. Anyway, they offered us a game for control of 99th street. Can you guess what idiotic challenge it was?"

I had absolutely no idea. I never knew they _had_ different challenges, other than spraying their art over their rivals'... "No?"

"A race. A damn race."

"And if you didn't know, that's just plain stupid." Dash said. "We're the _Rapid 99_. I mean, what dumbass challenges the _Rapid 99_ to a race?"

She and our leader began to laugh, shaking their heads at the GG's.

But, I was a bit skeptical. "How do you know it's not a trap?"

Dash and our leader immediately stopped laughing at the GG's 'idiocy' for a moment, seeming to consider that it actually might have been a trap.

"They don't have the balls. Plus, Yoyo has never been fast." She placed the two bands in my hands. "Oh, and put your hair up in two buns. Think it'll be cute on you."

"I don't know, what if they're trying to make a comeback or something? That's what it sounds like to me," I said, pulling half of my hair upwards and into a bun.

"They're not, Flow." Dash said, giving me a stern look.

I guess I was never supposed to question our leader's decisions. I took the hint, and decided to leave it at that – if they had confidence, then I would too. I had to admit that something still didn't seem right about this though, and if something went down, I'd try to be ready.

"So, Dash," I began, smiling. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

"Just a second. A few finishing touches first." She walked over to me, and pulled four pink metallic chopsticks from behind her back.

She stuck two in each bun, and our leader came over with a tube of lipstick and eyeliner. As they made up my face, I could feel myself getting nervous, and a bit anxious. Was I really going to be a part of the street-gang that I once hated so much... and be excited about it?

"Damn," our leader said, taking a step back alongside Dash. "Hello hello, my foxy little vixen."

Dash smirked. "As soon as we hit the streets, if you don't already got one, find an attitude. You can't look that dangerous and sexy if you talk like a five year old."

I smiled, and nodded. "You're right."

Dash ran over to the window, and I followed. Our leader handed me my own pair of spiked black skates, and after we put them on, we hopped over the window seal.

* * *

It was still very warm out, but the the breeze that followed us as we skated through the streets kept me cool.

"This feels so good, right? Knowing you're in total control, flying free, and nobody's gonna get in your way..."

She was right; I felt confident and powerful now. Every time we turned a corner, people immediately clung to the walls. It helped that 99th street was the most lively place at night, with all the lights, laughter, and partying that went down almost non-stop. The city finally got around to fixing the deal with blackout.

Dash sped ahead of me, and started to skate backwards. "Race me all the way around the area to back here."

Without another word, and giving me only a glimpse of her grin, she took off.

I realized this was my first test, since it'd have to be totally different navigating the area on skates. And the fact that this was a race. My first race, ever.

Faster. That's all that went through my mind until I had Dash back in my sights, and after that, was...

_Rush_.

Soon enough, we came out of the alleyways and to the center of 99th street, where apparently, a huge dragon was the main attraction of the area at night. Dash jumped onto the Dragon's tail – a railing that went all the way to the top.

"Oh shit," I cursed to myself. I knew how to grind rails, but going upwards?

I just didn't think about it as I jumped towards the pink computerized fire bolt– I just felt air, and soon after, the sharp collision between my skates and the railing. Dash wasn't far ahead of me, but she clearly thought she had the advantage. That was true, but only until we reached the top...

_Rush_, _Rush_, _Rush _...

We were both on flat ground now, but we'd only be here for less than a few seconds, and I had to take the lead now, or take my chances when we'd hit the ground – whenever that'd be.

I pushed harder to go faster, and suddenly I was _actually_ passing her by. It was that easy!

"You're actually tryin' now, huh?" she yelled with a wide smile, not far behind.

I jumped onto the neon railings, and we grinded until we hit a billboard. Suddenly, I felt myself turning my body a full 360 as I headed toward the ground.

As soon as my wheels hit the concrete, I kept pushing. I heard Dash squealing in approval of my little trick just now from behind, but I ignored it, unable to help the huge smile on my face.

_Rush_, _Rush_, _Rush_ ...

I was in the lead, and Dash was far behind. The area started to get familiar, and I decided to turn into an alleyway to end the race quicker. It was the one I was going to use to get home no more than two days ago, and then it hit me-

My home...

What happened to my apartment? Who were the Love Shockers? And their ex I was supposedly fooling around with? In such a short time I was able to completely forget all that was left of my real life, but now, just by passing through this particular alley, I was reminded of everything. Were people even looking for me? I mean, I wasn't exactly living by the clothes on my back, or whatever food I could find- I was safe, and well fed. Classes weren't until Monday, and no one would really suspect anything except my best friend, but lately, she never came to visit on weekends anymore.

I'd been staying in Rapid 99's little sanctuary, a huge top floor apartment decked out in all sorts of pinks and greens and rave posters, with tons of records scattered across the living room floor along with a set of turntables and three huge speakers. Apparently, Dash's parents were filthy rich, let her live on her own, and sent her a huge allowance every week. No one had a real reason to be worried about me, and even if they did, when they saw me in these skates and this outfit, they'd know I was doing fine.

Now, if someone wanted me to go back home, well... that would definitely be a problem.

I hadn't realized I took myself back to our starting point. I stopped and turned around, only to see Dash skating up to me, laughing.

"Nice. You're a lot tougher than you look. We didn't even use boost dashes."

"Boost dashes? What are those?" I asked.

She pointed down to my skates, and I lifted my left foot. On the side of my skates were two little exhaust pipes, and I noticed the outline of an open-able slot for the first time.

I lowered myself to a crouch, and flipped open the slot. Inside, was a black battery, outlined with a blue glow.

"These skates are special. They're powered by netrium batteries for boost dashes and other cool stuff, as you can see. All of the other gangs have em' too: the Immortals, the Noise tanks, the Doom Riders... everybody."

I looked up to Dash. "I have never heard of the Immortals a day in my life."

Both of her eyebrows raised subconsciously. "The mummy dudes with gold-plated skates? They're kinda slow 'cause they get tired easily. I guess that's how mummies would be if they were real, or something. They get too into the whole image thing..."

I rose back to my feet. "So what do we do now?"

"We see if you can tag." She tossed me a pink spraycan, and kept the green one for herself. "To the rooftops," she pointed.


	3. Race Against the GG's, Sort of

We were standing in front of a billboard, in an out-of-the-way area.

"Paint whatever comes to mind." Dash said, skating back to watch.

I stopped to think for a moment, imagining what I wanted it to look like, first. Then, I started to spray.

After I finished, I realized the number 99 surrounded by pink stars would've been the most simplistic thing in the world that I could've thought of, and it definitely showed.

"It's... cute," she said awkwardly, as she skated up closer to examine it.

"But... simple."

The comment came from someone other than Dash. A third voice was somewhere nearby, and I couldn't tell from where. It was definitely male, but a little high-pitched.

Dash looked to me, but not before scanning the area. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Whoa whoa, it's only me, yo. Calm down."

Dash's features tensed. I could tell she obviously had a strong dislike for whoever this was.

"Come out." She said, in a flat tone.

From our left, on a higher ground, came a boy in a navy blue hoodie with a white retro game-alien on the front, cargo shorts, an orange messenger bag, and... 3-D glasses. It was obviously the same green-haired kid I'd heard about before.

"Who's the new girl, yo?" He stopped a few feet away, bending forward, as if to get a better look.

"None of your damn business," I said.

He smirked. "Rude. So we on for that race, yo?"

Dash crossed her arms. "Not exactly. As you can see, there's only one of you, and two of us. I know you think highly of yourself, but going against both of us alone is just a bit insane, kid."

"Wrong!" he yelled, as if he were on a gameshow. "There's three of us, yo. Do _you _think you can handle _us_?"

Almost as if on queue, a girl in black jumped from the same building the boy did, and a guy in yellow followed behind her. They rolled up beside the green-haired kid, stopping on both his left and right.

"It's not like we knew we'd only stumble across two of you here, so don't think this was a set-up."

Even as she spoke to us, the girl, with red-lensed goggles pushed over her hairline, stood expressionless. From her intense, no-BS stare, down to her outfit, I could place her at about seventeen.

She wore a zippered black hoodie over a red tank top, and her blue and red star belt barely held up her tiny black shorts. Her skates were gray, worn, and accented with a dingy yellow, and from that, I could tell she was one of the 'old school' rudies.

The boy on his right... I wasn't so sure about. His skates looked brand-new. But, I knew for a fact that he was seventeen - boys just have a certain look about them that shows they're seventeen. Maybe it's maturity, maybe it's puberty... who knows?

The sleeves of his black jacket were rolled up to his elbows, and he was wearing pants and fingerless gloves of the same color as well. A vintage record was smack in the middle of his yellow shirt, and a silver studded belt stuck out over his black pants. I couldn't see much of his face, though - his eyes were covered by huge glasses, and his ears were covered by spiked headphones.

He crossed his arms. "Yeah. If it seems unfair, you can go get the rest of your crew. But... you can take your chances. If you want."

Then he let a laugh loose. "I don't recommend it though."

The three of them started to laugh together, and I could tell Dash was equally as humiliated and angry as I was.

Dash snarled. "Make it a one-on-one, then."

The three stopped laughing.

"Not so funny now, is it?" she smiled.

"You act like you got a secret weapon or somethin', yo. I'm sure lil' miss chopsticks can't do much more than you can. After all, she's new, right?" The green-haired kid smirked.

Dash started to fire back, but I stopped her. "We'll see," I said, staring the boy in the middle down. I could see why our leader and Dash hated him so much.

"So who's it gonna be?" Dash asked.

The three seemed to have no idea, but after a few seconds of staring at each other, the two looked to the boy on the right.

"Why's it gotta be me," he exclaimed, frowning.

"You're the fastest, yo!"

Even with his glasses on, I could tell he was giving them a threatening look.

"Whatever," he waved the two off. "This'll be over soon anyway."

Dash smiled. "He's not lying. You're _way_ faster than him."

That gave me something to have confidence in, and when it looked as though we'd given them a little scare, I felt even better.

We skated up to the edge, and all five us us jumped onto the street. The boy and I rolled up a little further ahead, side by side.

"Any rules?" I heard Dash ask.

"As if." I heard the girl reply.

"Well, we've got one. It's our turf, our rules."

"So what is it then?" the boy beside me asked, sounding a little impatient.

"No boost dashes. Pure skill."

I grinned to myself. Dash knew I'd win if he didn't use it.

"Alright," the boy beside me said.

I heard the three behind us yelling, trying to figure out what route we should go on, and they seemed to be arguing.

"Just go all the way around 99th street, dammnit!" Someone yelled.

"You don't have to get so mad about it, yo..."

"Shut up!" I heard somebody else yell, as well as someone being painfully nudged.

"Ok, guys!" Finally, Dash's voice took over.

"Ready..."

I lowered myself to one knee, and watched as he crouched to a readied position beside me.

"Set..."

I could practically feel myself moving now...

"Go!"

He and I took off. We were side by side for a little while, but as soon as we reached the center of 99th street, I knew I'd be sure to pass him up.

We hit the end of the alley- but came to a screeching halt right after. There was a line of armed guards standing in front of the dragon's tail, and they all started to rush towards us on sight.

"What the..." I heard him whisper before he turned around.

"What?" I asked, as we both hurried to skate in the opposite direction.

"I thought we got rid of them!"

We turned the corner, and had the other three in our sights.

"Dash," I yelled. "Cops!"

She held her hand out as we got closer, and after I took it, we raced down the street together. The whole hand-thing was a little strange, but after I heard it was to make sure no one got left behind, I had no reason to doubt it anymore.

"Wait a minute, yo! Where are we supposed to go?"

Dash and I looked back, and the three of them were right behind us.

"I don't know, but you're not comin' with us so piss _of____f__!_" Dash yelled back, returning her focus to our front.

Yoyo whispered something to me, and I gave in.

"Come on, Dash. They need our help."

She jerked her head to the side, looking at me as though I stole something from her. "Are you-"

"Just this once. We can't just leave them to get caught. What if it were us?"

After contemplating it for a short while, she sighed in disgust. "Follow us."

Dash immediately stopped, and pushed the door to the building on our right open. We ran up the stairs in our skates, and reached the rooftop. She lead us over two rooftops, and as the are seemed to get familiar, I realized we were going back to Dash's apartment.

She skated over to the single door on the roof, and opened it. She signaled for us to go down the stairs and inside.

I let the three to pass, and waited for Dash to get inside. She and I followed the three down the stairs, and soon enough, we were inside Dash's kitchen.

Dash locked the door behind us, and we all stopped to breathe.

"I know you didn't have to do this, so... thanks." The girl was obviously ashamed to be grateful, but I was glad she managed to thank Dash.

"Yeah. I know I didn't have to. And how long you think you're gonna have to stay here?"

"An hour. Just to be safe, yo."

She put her hands on her hips, and looked to me.

"You're putting up with them. I'm going to bed, so we'll talk in the morning."

We needed to have a talk? I could only guess that it wasn't gonna be a good one...

After Dash left, we all took seats on the sofas in the living room, staring at each other while the boy's blaring headphones were the only sound in the room.

"So... what are you guys' names? I'm Flow," I said, breaking the silence.

"Yoyo, yo," the green-haired kid smiled. "And that's Boogie."

"Yoyo, what the hell..." Boogie whispered.

"What? I mean, it _is_ her pad... we can't be rude."

It actually wasn't my house. But they didn't need to know that.

Yoyo snapped his fingers in front of the other boy, who took his headphones down from his ears.

"Yo! Introduction!"

He looked to me. "Beat."

And, right after, he pulled his headphones back over his ears.

A huge grin spread over Yoyo's face. "See? I got him trained real good."

Boogie and I started to giggle, and Beat looked up.

"Your mic is still on."

"No! Bad! Don't you sass me," he yelled, pointing a stern finger.

Beat only shook his head.

After that, it'd gotten pretty silent. Yoyo spent his time looking through all the rave posters on the floor, Boogie occasionally sparked up conversation with Yoyo while she examined her manicure, and Beat stayed silent, with his back against the wall, and his music loud.

The hour passed casually, and they left.

I took off my skates, and unbuckled my collar. As I pulled the chopsticks from my hair, and sat down on the couch, I wondered: where did those three have to go if the GG's had fallen apart?


	4. Flow's Day Off

_Charlie: D'awww, thanks! That review made me all fuzzy inside. XD_

_But yeah, you guys know the summary won't make an ounce of sense till the first real conflict takes place, right? No? Yes you do *sends telegram* Psh, you're such a fibber...!_

* * *

I awoke to the smell of something very sweet, and after I looked on the table beside the couch, I realized it was a huge piece of triple-chocolate cake. Rapid 99 seemed to be a big fan of dessert for breakfast.

I swung my legs off the couch, and onto the floor. Dash walked in, and surprisingly, her hair was down, and she had no makeup on. She almost looked normal. Besides the green hair.

"Morning." I smiled, stretching.

"Hey. I've got news for you," she said, walking over and plopping down on the carpet in front of the coffee table.

"What's up?"

She pulled the plate of cake to the middle of the table, and placed another fork on the table. "Want some?"

I nodded, and dropped to the floor with her.

"I told HBIC about our little run-in with the GG's last night. She wasn't happy that we let them in our place, but she says you've obviously got respect for other rudies. Noble, but the Rapid 99 ain't known for being noble."

"Sooo... is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I took a piece of the chunk and shoved it in my mouth.

"Generally, good, but HBIC doesn't like it."

"We're calling her HBIC now, why?"

"Head bitch in charge. You're still not ready to know her name yet, so I came up with that as a nickname for now," she smiled.

I giggled quietly to myself, and watched as Dash took small bites of the cake.

"But Zoom says you can know her name. It's... Zoom."

"Really? So are we gonna go out with her tonight, or something?"

The cake was almost gone now. "Actually, no, I'm feelin' a bit lazy today. You can do whatever you want, I'm just gonna nap back here with the others."

"Wow, so... I get to dress like a normal person, walk like a normal person... _be_ a normal person?"

"Don't say it like that! Isn't being a Rapid 99 the best thing that's ever happened to you?" she frowned.

"Eh. I've had better," I joked.

She smirked. "Whatever. Enjoy your day, Rush."

I started to pick at my fingernails, and then I looked back up. "Wait a minute, what'd you just call me?"

She got up, and grabbed the empty plate. "Rush. I told HBIC about our little race, and we both agreed on that name. You like it?"

"Definitely," I said.

"Cool. See you when you get back."

After Dash left, I got up, and went to the bathroom to turn on the shower.

"Hey, don't you need clothes?" I heard from outside the bathroom door.

I laughed at myself for not realizing it earlier. "Uh, yeah, actually."

"Hold on a sec."

I sat on top of the closed toilet seat, and waited. Shortly after, the door opened, and a bundle of clothing was placed on the counter next to the sink.

"I think this is your style, I'm not really sure. But if it's not, you can go out shopping if you want." A credit card was then placed on top of the bundle. "Pin number's 0099."

"Thanks," I called, as I watched the door shut.

After I showered and washed my hair, I picked through the bundle of clothing. She left me a hot pink tank top, black skinny jeans, and bright red sneakers. There was a huge red hoodie on the side of the bundle, and after a few seconds of staring at it, I realized the sneakers and hoodie were mine. I was wearing them the night I joined the Rapid 99...

I dressed, and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I left the apartment with a white backpack over my shoulder, and as soon as the sun hit my face, it felt strange. It'd been almost a week since I went outside during the day, but even though it was around four or five in the afternoon, there was still enough sunlight to prefer being a night owl.

I put my hands into my huge pockets, and walked down the street. There were more people out than usual, but I guessed it was because everyone was out shopping, and not inside, partying.

I reached the center of 99th street, and a store with a computer screen above it's entrance caught my eye first. I went inside the store, and there was strange, but somehow amazing, music blaring. There were all sorts of cool headphones on the walls, as well as huge decorated stereo speakers, turntables, and flat screen TV's.

The man in the back grinned at me. "Hey kiddo, looking for somethin'?"

"Looking, yeah," I smiled back.

"Alright. Lemme know if you need anything."

I nodded to him, and walked up to the wall on my left. There had to be at least a hundred pairs of headphones in front of me, if not more. I noticed there were no cords binding them to the walls, but then, I realized wireless headphones started coming out last year, and anyone who could afford them raced to the stores as soon as they hit the shelves.

Almost every pair of the 'sets looked like they were custom-made. Some were all white, some were even gold, and some were every color of the rainbow- but the silver ones in front of me made me absolutely _giddy_. This was probably where Beat got his headphones from, but I had yet to see any with spikes on the sides.

I picked up the pair of silver headphones, and turned them over in my hand. There were red stars outlined in little stones on the sides.

"It's like someone made these just for me," I joked to the shopkeeper, still examining the headphones.

"Heh, really? I can engrave your name on em' for ten bucks extra. Then they'll _really_ be made just for you."

"Awesome. I'll take them."

He came from behind his counter, and walked over. I told him my name, then he looked at the tag on the headphones, presumably to get the model number, and went into the back.

I walked up to the counter while he prepared my headphones in back, and noticed a wide variety of watches in the glass counter. There was a gorgeous gold mini-turntable watch that cost an appropriate five hundred bucks, but what caught my eye was beside it; a black, more simplistic watch.

The shopkeeper came back with the box with my headphones inside it, and noticed me eyeing the black watch.

"Before you ask, I've got a question for you."

I looked up, confused. "What's that?"

"Who do you run with?"

"How do you... what kind of question is that?" I asked.

"The backpack, the clothes, the headphones. You've got skates in that bag, don't you? You're a rudie, right, kid?"

I didn't know what to say. What if he planned to have me arrested, or something? "Well... I... not really..."

"I guess you don't need to be eyeballin' that watch, then. The 'phones cost two hundred even."

I pulled the credit card out of my backpack, and handed it to him.

"So who is it? I figure the GG's," he said suddenly, not looking away from the register.

"Dude, what the hell do you want from me?"

He stopped, and looked at me. "That's what I thought." He opened the glass counter, and took the watch from it's place. He handed me the card back, and slid the watch case and headphones box over to me. "Good luck out there, noob. And try to watch the attitude."

I blinked at him a few times, and he returned nothing but a smile. I left after an awkward minute, and walked over to a nearby bench.

I sat down and hastily put the watch on, and turned the dial on the side. I heard music, and immediately looked around to see if anyone had noticed how loud it was as I turned it back off.

Suddenly, I felt someone take a seat beside me, but their sights remained straight ahead. "Turn on your headphones."

I didn't look at whoever it was, and did as I was told. After the headphones were over my ears, the person beside me reached over to turn the dial on my watch again.

_DJ Professor K in the building! Good morning Tokyo-to, time to shake off those hangovers and finally call that girl back from last night! She's gotta be pissed if you waited this long!_

What the...

_It seems the long-gone GG's are tryin' to make a comeback, and challenged the Rapid 99 to a race on their own turf for control of 99th street last night. Things were goin' fine until an unidentified police force crashed the party, and chased the Rapid 99 and the GG's back to where they came from._

_Who are these new goonies tryin' to take back control of the streets? What happened to the rest of the GG's? And who is that new chick in the Rapid 99? All your questions will be answered in due time, 'cause all we can do is wait, people... _

After 'DJ Professor K' stopped playing news reporter, a song came on. I took the headphones from my ears, and looked beside me.

It was an auburn-haired boy, towering a couple of feet over me with a huge pair of glasses on, and spiked headphones over his ears.

He pulled the headphones down to rest on his shoulders, and turned his watch off. "Looks like you've never heard of Jet Set Radio Future before."

I looked into my lap, slightly embarrassed. "I haven't, actually. What is it?"

"A radio station," he answered, his tone implying that it should've been obvious. "But it's really only for the rudies. You've got one of the watches." He pointed to the watch on my wrist. "Aren't you a rudie?"

I looked up, but I wasn't sure if I could make eye contact... with his glasses. "Uh... no."

I knew that the boy in front of me was Beat, but he didn't know that I was affiliated with the queens of 99th street. Apparently I could pass as an average girl today.

He raised an eyebrow. "Then... how'd you get the watch?"

"The guy in that shop over there thought I was a rudie, and gave it to me." I shrugged, pointing backwards.

"I see." He raised his arm up and backwards out of my vision, and a second later I could tell it was behind me. "So, _do_ you wanna be a rudie?"

I giggled. "Nah. Even though my parents aren't ever around to know if I was running the streets, I don't think a life of trying to just... 'get by' sounds like too much fun."

He winced, and a slight frown appeared. "Doesn't sound like fun? If you're with the right crew, 'getting by' could be the best thing you've ever had to do in your life, and I know in my case, it happens every day. Plenty of fun to go around."

His frown eased into a soft smile, and then he sighed, looking to the ground. "It isn't all it used to be, though."

"You mean... ever since the GG's fell apart?"

"Yeah." His attention was still on the ground. "How'd you know about that?"

"I think everybody knows about that," I said, knowing it was true. Anywhere I went after the GG's were found... well... _not_ together, people seemed to notice, and talked about it in school for days.

He looked up. "I guess everyone would, huh? But even without the rest of the gang, Boogie and Yoyo are great friends to have, especially at a time like this. We're kinda like family now. I mean, we were always like family, but I think the three of us are a lot closer now."

He turned to me. "I know you said you've got real family, but, I noticed you said they aren't really around. What did you mean?"

I wasn't sure if I could trust a stranger with knowing something like this, but Beat seemed to prove otherwise. I technically _did_ know him, and he seemed like the right person, if any, to tell. He was calm and cool right now, and I felt like I could just relax and have a normal conversation, for once.

"I don't really tell people..."

"Oh, sorry for asking-"

"_But, _my parents moved to America. My mom got a job... and I wasn't ready to leave. I couldn't, actually. I was doing great in school, I had the best person in the world as a friend, and everything was just... great. Moving probably would've screwed my life over."

His eyebrows raised subconsciously. "Then how are you out on 99th street buying headphones... on a Monday?"

"It's... kind of complicated," I smiled, shaking my head.

"But, that means you know school's not your thing anymore?"

I hadn't really thought about it until now. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You've got a watch specifically made for rudies, and enough time on your hands to _be_ a rudie?"

I started to smile. "I guess I do..."

"Sounds like all you need is a family."

I shook my head, grinning. "I see where this is going, but I can't join the GG's. I'm really sorry."

He leaned closer to me, and pulled his glasses down. "Does this make you wanna join?"

I started to laugh at him, raising an eyebrow. "You mean the funny look you're giving me? I'm more scared of it than anything."

He lifted his glasses back over his soft green eyes, and looked off to the side. "It was worth a shot though, right?"

I shook my head. "Could've done better. But I'll tell you what: you show me where to get some skates, and I'll consider it."

He smirked. "That's a can-do. But the only problem is, I'm on skates," he pointed to his beautiful black skates, and then to my red sneakers. "And you're in gym shoes."

I shrugged. "Maybe you could walk in your socks. I'll take my shoes off if that'll make you feel like we're even."

He stood up, chuckling, and signaled for me to get behind him. "Got a better idea that doesn't involve destroying one of the four pairs of socks I have."

He bent over, balancing himself on his skates. "Get on my back."

I instantly flushed red. "Are you... s-serious?"

He turned his head back, and nodded with a smile. "Yeah. You don't want to?"

"Of course I do!"

My hand immediately slapped to my mouth, and I could feel myself melting on the inside.

"Oh, geez. I didn't mean it... like _that_..."

Great. Now I was hysterically spazzing out, and all Beat could do was chuckle to himself. "It's ok."

After I composed myself, I placed my hands on his shoulders, and he stood as I wrapped my legs around his waist. His arms locked my legs in place, and we started to move forward.

"Don't go too fast." I said quickly, feeling my heart pound against his back. I _really_ hoped he couldn't feel it, too.

"Can't guarantee that," he laughed. "But trust me, I won't drop you."

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_A/N: As of 4.18.11, this story is being continued. Look for an update today, tomorrow, or wednesday!_


	5. Out of the Way

_Staygoldenkidd: :D! I'm glad you gave this a shot, then. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others._

_JSRF has recieved a small makeover... I gave the GG's different outfits, and made Kibogaoka Hill walk-able. Seriously, how do the people that live there get around? (And if you don't want to read the outfit changes in chapter 3, they're at the end of this chapter.)  
_

_P.S. As of this chapter, I'll be using songs from the original JGR soundtrack!_

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x x x

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It was beginning to get dark. The warmth in the sky was now slowly fading into a soft, cool blue color, and the temperature was dropping so much that I started to shiver under the wind. I held onto Beat tightly, for both warmth and comfort, as we rolled down the highway to the garage.

We came to the stairs, and I let myself off his back to go on my own. But as I continued upward, I started to slow down...

In the center of what used to be the GG's hideout, was a giant, shining tower.

Without looking away from it, I stopped at the top step. "What... happened to the..."

As I trailed off, Beat was already by my side. He looked upwards to the top of the tower, as if he'd only seen it for the first time.

"Noise Tanks."

After he answered me, I looked back towards the tower. I should've guessed it was them. The building itself looked like it was made of metal, and the only door to get in or out was caged by electric bars. There were windows on what looked like the few top floors, and from those windows, came a blue, pink, or green light that went on and off every two seconds. I could also feel a low hum in the area, or maybe it was bass... but it was probably from whatever music they were playing inside.

"After the GG's broke up, the other gangs saw it as a chance to take our base. It has exits to get basically... anywhere, so it really is the best hideout for any gang of rudies."

Beat lowered himself to one knee, and, still gawking at the tower, I climbed onto his back.

"I guess the Noise Tanks beat the rest of 'em here, and took over." He finished.

As he slowly started to move forward, I kept my eyes on the tower. If the police intervened, how would anyone take that thing _down_? And how did they get away with building it so high? It must've taken a while, so someone_ had_ to've noticed...

I turned my head back towards the direction we were headed, and right after, we came to a stop. More stairs.

I climbed down again, and walked down the steps alongside Beat.

"How much farther 'till we get... wherever we're going?" I asked.

He knelt upon reaching the bottom step, and I climbed onto his back again. He lifted me up, and started to move forward.

"It's not too far. But then again, my estimation is based on the times when I don't have to go slow to make sure I don't tumble over and crash into the ground."

I smiled, lowering my head onto his shoulders. "Uh huh."

After coming through a tunnel in the side of a building, we rolled through the dusty pathways of 'Rokkaku-dai-heights'. That was what Beat called the neighborhood. It had to be about seven p.m. Now, since there wasn't much of the sun in the sky anymore.

The buildings here looked as though they represented the lower end of Tokyo-to... They looked like they were made out of any random sturdy materials the residents could find. None of the buildings had two floors, and the rooftops were mostly flat. There were a few rails above the houses that led pretty deep into the neighborhood, though.

"You guys come here often? You know, just for fun?"

We hit a left into a dark alleyway.

"We used to. The only time we're really over here now is when we're going back to the garage," he answered, taking another left turn.

There was another stairwell coming into view, only this time, it led to a pitch black tunnel below us.

"So," I said, climbing down from his back. "You guys are the new Poison Jam?"

He smirked briefly, and we started down the rusted metal stairs.

"Nope. We're in Kibogaoka Hill. The garage's pretty out-of-the-way, and we picked it because if someone wanted to find us, they'd have to be real determined. Keeps a lot of trouble out."

We entered the dark tunnel, and the first thing I saw when I let myself down was a broken beam that led us across. If both of us could _get_ across, that is.

"Didn't think this through, huh?" I snickered, watching Beat move towards the edge of the drop.

He looked down to guesstimate the depth of the drop, and then over to the opposite side.

"Nope, but I'm good with coming up with ideas on the spot."

He rolled backwards, passing me, and I stepped aside. "You are?"

He crouched, pressing the tips of his fingers on the bottom of the tunnel in a readied position. "Can't you tell? If it wasn't for me, we still would've been walking..." he shot me a playful look, and I rolled my eyes. "After I get over there, I'll throw my skates back over here. Sound alright?"

I nodded in approval, and after he looked away, I found myself smiling as I watched him take off and grind the beam to jump over. His skates loudly skidded against the ground of the tunnel when he stopped, and he spun around.

Beat made it look so easy.

He rolled towards the edge on the opposite side, and began to take his skates off. "You _can_ get over here... right?"

I came closer towards the edge. "If you're asking me if I can grind, then, yeah."

He threw one over, and then the other, and I put them both on. I looked down at my feet.

"Lots of room in here... what if I fall?" I asked, looking over at him.

"You scared?"

Tilting my head slightly to the left, I smiled. "Of falling to my death? Yes."

"Don't be. You just won't fall. Okay?"

Still doubting it, I called over, "Okay."

I threw both of my shoes to the other side, and rolled backwards. His skates were really big on my feet, and it was almost the same as trying to run in size thirteen shoes when you know you're a size six- It just wasn't gonna happen.

Paranoid as hell, I took off the skates, and my socks, and bunched each of them up in the back of his skates. Then I put them back on, and, without allowing anymore doubt to settle in, I pushed forward. I hopped onto the rail, and...

Just that soon, I felt like I was losing control.

"Holy shit, I'm _going_ to fall!"

"You're not, I'll catch you," Beat quickly called back, holding his arms out in front of him.

I jumped over to the right side of the beam instead of trying to land on it, and watched Beat shift to the right with me. The edge of the tunnel hit the space between the wheels of his skates hard, and my heart dropped a single time before Beat gripped my wrist. He pulled me forward immediately, and I collided with his chest.

"You good?"

Heart pounding and shaken up, I answered. "Never again."

He lowered our hands, and let go of my wrist. "At least you didn't spaz out mid-air. That would've been a nasty fall."

"Yeah." I muttered, trying not to die of both shock and embarrassment. If Beat wasn't acting so casually about our bodies touching unexpectedly right now, I probably wouldn't have been able to control my blush-meter.

"Any more places we can only get to on skates?" I asked, taking off his skates, and putting my socks and shoes on, while he put his skates back on.

He laughed and shook his head. "Nope. Lucky for you, we're almost to Kibogaoka Hill." He knelt down, facing the opposite direction. "You still okay to ride?"

Heart still pounding, I walked toward him. "Of course."

I climbed on his back, and we went through the center of the sewage facility into another tunnel that led to Kibagaoka Hill.

As Beat skated calmly through the neighborhood with me on his back, lights came on inside the houses, and I could tell it was around eight or so. Kibogaoka Hill was nearly the same as Rokkaku-dai-heights; the buildings and layout were the same, except for the fact that there were more poles above the houses to grind. For what seemed like an hour, Beat was taking me through a maze of alleys, and then we finally came to a stop, and I climbed down.

"Down this ladder."

He took off his skates, and climbed down. I followed suit, and after walking a little further, we came to another shorter ladder, and climbed up that one as well.

And then, in front of us, was an old shutter.

I looked around. "This really is out of the way... How'd you find this place?" I asked, watching him lift the shutter.

"Dropped down here on accident a few months back. Yoyo insisted we 'explore' since the area was abandoned, and we found out that you could still open this shutter. It leads to a place kinda like our first garage."

He climbed inside with his skates in hand, and I climbed in after him. I closed the shutter behind me, and when I turned around, the whole hall was pitch black. Suddenly, I heard music, and a red light started to blink from behind the door.

Beat pulled the door open, and the first thing I saw when I stepped inside, was a boy dancing on top of a pool table in his socks, and immediately after that, a girl bobbing her head on the sofa a few feet away, holding the boombox as she watched the boy in amusement.

"Uh, guys..."

Beat flipped the red lights off, and the normal ones on.

"What?" The girl shrugged innocently. She turned down _'Bout the City_, and hauled the stereo from her lap onto the table beside the couch. "This dork wanted to have a party, and I told him up and at it."

"Yeah. And it was gettin' pretty funky 'til you turned the lights on, yo."

I started to look around, and I didn't know how to else explain it, but...

Their garage had a serious _vibe_.

Graffiti covered the walls in so many bright colors, and the themes were centered around the people that lived there and most of the stuff rudies were supposed to care about: Jet Set Radio, the soul of the streets, and keeping your skates with you until the day you died. Music apparently would never escape their grasp with all the boomboxes, turntables, and speakers they had, and style definitely wasn't out of the question with their furniture. It helped that the upkeep wasn't exactly nasty... it was just... lazy.

The boy jumped off the pool table, and jogged over to give Beat some kind of handshake. "Who's this?"

"Rush." I smiled, cutting off Beat's chance to introduce me. My eyes went from the red and blue lenses of the boy's glasses, to his lime green hair. It was Yoyo, no doubt.

"Name's Yoyo, yo. You gonna be the newest addition to the washed-up loser crew?"

"We're not washed up, Yoyo. And we're definitely not losers," the girl frowned. "Well. _I'm _not a loser, at least." She said, smirking.

If this was Yoyo in front of me, then that had to be-

"Boogie. Nice to meet you," she smiled, lifting her chin to me.

"Come on, Rush. We're here for skates, remember?"

Beat signaled for me to follow him to the back, and we headed down the hall.

"Oooooh! Baby, just follow me in back and I'll make _all_ your dreams come true!" Yoyo joked, his hands smushing his cheeks together as he sang behind us.

Beat laughed to himself, and I started to laugh, too. Because otherwise, I would've fainted on the spot.

After Yoyo's singing was too far away to hear, we were in a room with tons of cans of spray-paint, skates, different colored wheels, and boxes of 'netrium' batteries scattered all over the place.

"Mix and match 'til you find the skates you want. I'll put 'em together."

I looked to Beat, eyes wide. "Really?"

He nodded.

"You're fuckin' awesome," I said, unable to help my huge grin.

After about five minutes of standing around with my chin in my hand, and pulling skates down, I was torn between black skates with purple wheels, and white skates with red wheels.

I held them both up, and turned around. "Which ones?"

"Whichever you like." he answered simply, looking up to me from the crate he sat on.

I let my arms drop to my sides. "Big help." I dropped the white skate onto the ground, and handed him the black one.

Beat slightly tossed it into the air, turning it over. "Give me an hour. You got somethin' to do 'till then?"

I shrugged. "Maybe I'll go dance with Yoyo and Boogie."

He nodded, and took my skate over to the workbench.

"...Or maybe I'll stay here and talk to you," I said, plopping down on the crate he was just sitting on.

"Oh, you will? What about?" Beat opened a drawer, and pulled out a few tools.

"Well, first off, you _do_ realize I can't live with you guys down here, right?"

"If you need to bring some stuff from your house down here, that's fine." He answered, starting to work on the skate.

"It's not that. My parents come to check on me every couple of months," I said, looking into my lap.

"So go back when they come to check on you."

I shook my head, even while knowing he couldn't see it. "It's not that simple. School, remember?"

He put one of the tools back down. "You said school wasn't your thing anymore."

Oh, yeah...

"I guess I did... It's just that... I'm just not used to the thought of ditching _everything_ I used to do. I mean, I won't see half the people I know anymore. And college? What happens to all those plans people had for you... all the stuff you'd do in normal, everyday life. Walking, coming home from work and getting ready to go back to work the next day..."

He closed the drawer beside him, and as he reached for a lower drawer, he looked to me. "You're thinking too much."

My hands went through my hair, and I gripped my scalp. "It's overwhelming if I even think about it a little bit."

He took a box from the drawer. "So don't think about it at all. Most of us rudies don't have to, so I guess I wouldn't fully get why you're feelin' like this... it's kinda the same way with Rhyth."

I looked up. "With who?"

"Rhyth. She went back to school after summer break ended. She actually has the choice of being a rudie or living a normal life. And Yoyo likes her a lot, but he wouldn't tell her before she left. Actually..." He opened the box, and inside, were the purple wheels.

"We were gonna go meet her on Chuo street tomorrow, around six. Wanna come with?"

I watched him snap and screw the wheels into the bottom of the skate. "Sure, sounds like fun. And you said she actually has a choice between being a rudie and having a normal life... most of you didn't?"

"So you're starting to catch on to my every word now, huh?" He asked, smiling. "Well... no. My mom died, and my dad was always a dick, so I couldn't take living with him. I know Yoyo's sister was a rudie and left home, so he did too. And Boogie... I'm not sure. I haven't asked, and she doesn't really bring it up. But... most of the old group pretty much had nowhere else to go."

"Oh... well, I'm sorry for bringing it up, then," I said, looking at the back of his head, as if I expected him to turn around. "I hope I didn't re-open any old wounds."

"You didn't. She died when I was eleven, and I was pretty messed up for six years. I think I'm okay now, though."

He pulled two silver fenders from the drawer on his left, and slid them over the set of wheels. "So you can't live with us forever. And what else did you wanna tell me?"

"I also don't think I can be a GG forever, either."

He put one skate to the side, and picked up the other. "So what, you're just sticking around for the fun times?"

I smiled. "If you want to put it that way... then yeah. I just don't know if I can switch lifestyles so quickly."

"You've kinda already done it. You missed school today, and you're gonna miss school tomorrow."

He had a point. "Yeah, I have...

"Wait. And why am I missing school tomorrow, again?"

"We're taking these for a test run tonight. You'll probably crash during school hours. And plus, you're already too far away from home to get ready for school, anyway."

I laughed. "Is there anything else on my schedule?"

He started to snap and screw the wheels into the bottom of the second skate. "Nope, you're pretty busy the rest of the day. Potts needs a bath. Bad."

Assuming he meant their dog I had yet to see, I giggled to myself. Having this talk made the things that'd happened over the past two days a little clearer in my head, and not just a jumble of happenings. All I had to do now, was make the choice of becoming a rudie, living a 'here and now' life, or, going back to my normal life, where I'd probably never experience anything like this again.

...No. All I had to do now, was tie up a few loose ends.

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x x x

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_And on with the outfit changes. They're in chapter 3 if you wanted to read how I put this into the story:_

_Boogie: Wears a black zippered hoodie with a red tank top underneath, and a blue and red starred belt over black shorts. Wears the same goggles with red lenses over her hairline from JGR, and has her grey and yellow skates from JGR also._

_Beat: Wears a black jacket that he rolls up to his elbows, a yellow shirt with a record on the front, a studded belt, and black pants. Goggles, headphones, fingerless gloves. His skates are the same as the ones in JSRF._

_Yoyo: Wears a navy blue hoodie with a white retro game alien on the front, tan cargo shorts, 3-D glasses, and the same orange messenger bag and yellow skates from JSRF. (His outfit was mostly inspired by Zeke from Zombies Ate My Neighbors, if you've ever heard of it. It's an old genesis game. :D)_

_The rest of the characters have different outfits, which you'll no doubt see in future chapters. I tried to keep at least one thing the same so you'd have something to recognize them by, so don't worry about any surprises._

_P.S., don't forget to show me that you're still following! I expect everyone has forgotten what this story is about and it's purpose by now. xD_


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